Rich, Smart, Honest?: Does Success Lead to Unethical Lawyering?

The
causes of unethical behavior in society, and among lawyers specifically, are
the subject of significant interest in legal and psychological academia. Among
the hypothesized causes of unethical behavior is class distinction. This
research offers a preliminary inquiry into whether the structure of law school
education leads to greater unethical behavior because it imposes an additional
level of class distinction among lawyers through class rankings and coveted
spots on law review and other “elite” organizations. Empirical results suggest
possible correlation between ethical standards and various indications of law
school “class” status. While the results are not statistically significant to a
high confidence level, the small number of observations may have led to the
lack of statistical significance, indicating a need for further research to
verify the results.